Chapter 9 – Sacrifice

The door to Chakotay's quarters sounded. Despite all the Borg construction material that made up the settlement, the sound was the standard Star Fleet chime. A little touch added by Grenell when he was apportioning out the living quarters. Chakotay moved over to the door and pressed the opening mechanism. The door slid open and he was greeted by his former commanding officer, Captain Kathryn Janeway.

She stepped back a half pace and spread her arms out to show she was free of all the Borg implants that had once invaded her body. "Back to normal," she said with a big smile, but then frowned slightly. "At least, mostly back to normal. When will this itching stop?"

"Give it a day or two," Chakotay replied. The regenerated skin in areas where implants were removed did itch quite a bit at first. It was good to see her. She, Tom and B'Elanna had come to the settlement a couple days before to undergo the procedure of removing the Borg implants. The former crew of Voyager were all cycling through. Kathryn's positive attitude helped tremendously in distracting Chakotay from other matters. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms about Kathryn, and she closed her arms around him.

"It's good to be here, and finally human again," Kathryn choked out. "Not exactly the way we planned to get our people back home, is it."

Chakotay found a lump forming in his throat. Three years in the Delta Quadrant, and then assimilated by the Borg, only to escape and find themselves in the midst of Galactic war. Just in the past few days had they finally found the time to account for everyone, and unfortunately they all didn't make it. Most significantly was the loss of Kes, apparently during the original assimilation, and the loss of the Doctor's program. "I haven't quite made it back to the Alpha Quadrant yet," Chakotay observed, attempting to avoid going down that path again. Lost crewmen and regrets. He released the embrace but still held one hand on Kathryn's waist. Kathryn was right, it was good to feel human again, and he didn't want that bit of human contact to end.

Kathryn looked inside his quarters. "It seems like you're finding a home here."

Chakotay frowned. Not quite as he had hoped.

"What is it?" Kathryn asked, now concerned.

"Nothing," he replied quickly. He considered Kathryn one of his closest friends, but wasn't about to confide in her his predicament. After all, he had only known Annika for a few short weeks. Why should he feel this heartache about losing her when he never really had her in the first place? Besides, she appeared conflicted as well, not exactly comfortable with Axum, who assumed too much, but uncertain what to do about it. She had been a Borg drone for most of her life, growing up essentially in Unimatrix Zero. Time would tell, and he intended to stick around and find out. "I was just about to go and check on the progress of the development of the new pathogen. Would you care to join me?"

Kathryn shook her head. "Tuvok's sphere has just entered orbit. He'll be coming down to the settlement to finally get his implants removed."

Chakotay nodded. "That's right. His wife arrived the other day. She's been helping out in the nursery. We have so many children to care for."

"That's where I'm heading, to meet up with Tuvok and T'Pel." Kathryn then smiled and shook her head. "It is quite remarkable," she mused, "you've built quite a community here." She was apparently thinking of all the babies, but then turned serious again. "Tom, B'Elanna and I will be beaming up to the sphere to bring it back to the front lines. I actually stopped by to say goodbye."

"Are they still projecting the Splinter will collapse by the end of the week?"

"It's hard to imagine, particularly when you read the engagement summaries or you're in heated battles defending a planet, but that's what the experts continue to say."

Chakotay rubbed his chin. "I'm heading in that direction," he finally said. "I'll walk you there."

They walked in silence for a time, though the hallways made from a Borg cube's superstructure. Kathryn glanced at Chakotay. "Are you sure you're alright my friend?"

"The responsibilities of the settlement are taxing," Chakotay lied. "We continue to grow each day. There are now over a million of us."

Kathryn appeared to accept his explanation. Perhaps it was only in his imagination, but Chakotay suspected she knew it was something else entirely but decided not to push it. As they approached one of the settlement's nurseries, the activity about them increased markedly. And there, outside the main entrance, Tuvok stood with T'Pel. He, still fully adorned with Borg armor and implants, and she holding two babies, one in each arm. Both infants were staring up wide-eyed at the stately Vulcan.

"You have a knack with babies T'Pel," Kathryn remarked as they came up beside them.

T'Pel bowed ever so slightly, as to not disturb the little ones in her charge. Tuvok reached over and lightly touched one of the baby's head. "She is an exceptional mother and care giver," he remarked, more as a statement of fact than a compliment.

"I suppose you're glad to finally be here," Chakotay said, turning to Tuvok.

Tuvok nodded. "I will be… relieved to finally rid myself of these Borg implants and not have to spend any more time in a regeneration alcove."

"Here here," Chakotay concurred.

Suddenly Chakotay's communicator chirped. "Commander Data to Administrator Chakotay."

Chakotay frowned. They had started calling him that recently and he wasn't too sure he cared for the title. He tapped his comm badge. "Go ahead."

"Please proceed to Axum's lab. We have something to show you."

Chakotay, Kathryn, Tuvok and T'Pel all exchanged glances. Apparently, after a week of continuous research, the team developing the new pathogen had finally made a significant breakthrough. "On my way."

"Sounds like good news," Tuvok remarked.

"And not a moment too soon," Chakotay replied. "We're running out of time." Chakotay stepped up to Kathryn and the two embraced again.

"Goodbye old friend," she soothed. "I'll return as soon as I'm able."

He nodded back, and also nodded to Tuvok and T'Pel before departing. Axum's lab was in another wing of the primary building at the settlement. For the most part, the building was constructed on a single level, and thus was spread out over a large area. It took Chakotay several minutes to make his way to the lab. When he arrived, Commander Data was waiting for him in the hallway. Enterprise had long since left orbit, but Data and Subcommander Rujal had stayed behind to assist Axum.

"Axum believes the new pathogen is ready," Data said. "We are conducting the final simulations now."

"Did you settle on a delivery mechanism?" Chakotay asked. It had been a source of contention early on. Originally, Axum wanted to simply reprogram Borg nanoprobes. This would require, however, everyone in the Alpha Quadrant to be comfortable with the dormant nanoprobes in their system at all times. Objections to this led to trying to reconfigure a biological virus or naturally occurring protein to serve as the host of the pathogen.

"We were able to encode the pathogen into a RNA fragment to be carried in a non-lethal strand of the Denobulan Fever virus."

Chakotay looked surprised. "Denobulan fever?" he asked skeptically. That wasn't too contagious, but could be pretty nasty.

Data shook his head. "There is no cause for alarm. The original effects of the virus itself has been rendered inoperative. At worst, an inoculation may be accompanied by a slight swelling at the point of administration. The individual will only need to be inoculated once."

That was a relief.

"We needed to pick a strain that could only be transferred if the Borg assimilated the individual and not with a simple transfer of the contagion to a drone via other mechanisms," Data added.

Just then, Axum stepped out into the hallway. He had that smug look on his face that drove Chakotay crazy. "Ah, Chakotay," he said. "I see Commander Data has already told you the good news. I was just about to go tell Annika and celebrate. I suggest you summon the others to gather in the meeting room. We have important decisions to make."

#

The graph Data was showing bifurcated at an ever increasing rate from left to right indicating the passage of time. On the far right hand side of the graph, it was difficult to distinguish one line from another. "As you can see," he said pointing to the chart, "the rate of splintering increases exponentially to the inevitable point where each individual drone in the original Collective is its own splinter. By that time, the Hive Mind has essentially been destroyed and the threat from the Borg eliminated."

"A weapon of mass destruction," Chakotay whispered under his breath. Annika, who was sitting next to him in her usual spot, turned sharply, obviously hearing what he hadn't intended anyone to hear.

"What makes this different than Picard's insolvable puzzle," the Klingon representative asked. He had been General Martok's deputy. Kor had also stayed on at the settlement after the original meeting the week before, but hadn't aided in the development of the pathogen. Instead, he had helped in the construction of other buildings within the settlement while they waited for the new pathogen to be completed.

"With each splinter, it is designed to mutate into a specific variant. It will be carried by both the Splinter and Collective until the next iteration," Data explained. "Each branch then splits chaotically, but the end result is still the same."

"What prevents the Collective or Splinter from recognizing this mutation?" Kor persisted.

"We have run the simulations," Axum interrupted. He appeared bored by the discussion. "All contingencies have been explored. If the Borg assimilates an individual inoculated with this pathogen, they will be destroyed." It appeared that Kor was about to raise another objection, but Axum raised his hand. "The point is, it will never come to that. Once the Borg understand the danger, they will cease to be a threat!"

"Now that's the tricky part," Chakotay said. He looked at all those assembled. "How do we send this message to the Borg Collective, and how do we convince them we have the pathogen and we will use it if necessary."

"It is not a matter of using it," Axum corrected. "When we deliver the message to the Collective, we say that all our populations have been inoculated. It is then up to them not to act."

"But how do we deliver the message? How do we let them know?"

"I imagine they will want some sort of proof," Kor said.

"We could give them a sample of the pathogen," Data suggested.

Axum shook his head. "That wouldn't be wise."

Data appeared confused. "The simulations indicate even with this knowledge, the Borg would be unable to develop and adequate strategy, and by assimilating the pathogen, they guarantee their own destruction if they attempt to analyze it more fully to develop an antidote."

"Is this pathogen not as robust as you've led us to believe?" Kor asked with the sneer.

"It will do the job," Axum corrected. "But giving them a sample is unnecessary. The Borg digest new information by assimilation. They would learn nothing for they couldn't assimilate the pathogen, as Data just pointed out."

"Are you suggesting we send someone to the Collective to get assimilated who has knowledge of the pathogen?" Annika asked aghast.

Axum nodded slowly. "By their assimilation, if the person was fully briefed as to the effects of the pathogen on the Hive Mind and resulting deterioration of the Collective, that would be effective. Exactly Annika. That would be the best way to deliver the message."

Annika's mouth opened wide. It was clear she hadn't intended to suggest such a thing. To send someone to the Borg to be assimilated was unconscionable.

"The inoculations need to be distributed first," Kor observed. "In case the Borg decide to attack immediately."

"Subcommander Rujal and I have already created the first batch of doses," Axum replied. "They can be easily replicated and sent out immediately."

Everything was in place and Chakotay made a decision. He couldn't order someone to deliver this message, but he could volunteer. No matter how much he would like to stay, his duty was clear. "Then it's settled," he said and placed his hands on the table. "We start distributing the inoculations immediately. I will take one of the tetrahedrons and meet with the Collective. I will deliver the message." A tetrahedron was the smallest of Borg vessels, for one or two drones at most. It was built for speed, having a self-contained trans-warp drive, but had no shields or armaments.

Annika grabbed Chakotay's wrist. "No you won't!" she said, her eyes blazing. It was difficult to ignore the intensity of her gaze.

"Someone must. We're running out of time. The Splinter will collapse any day."

"We will start loading the pathogen on all vessels leaving for the Alpha Quadrant as soon as possible," Subcommander Rujal stated. "We'll being inoculations here in the settlement at once."

Annika looked about wide-eyed. The rest were moving on, not challenging Chakotay's decision. She leaned closer to Chakotay while the others discussed the logistics of distributing the inoculations. "You are needed here," she persisted, pleading with Chakotay. "You're the settlement's leader."

Chakotay placed his hand on Annika's. Her concern was what he had needed these past days. If only he could stay. Stay with her and be with her. It was the one thing he desired more than anything. But as she pointed out, he was the settlement's leader. Like it or not, he couldn't delegate this responsibility to anyone else. As the leader, he had to be the one to go deliver the message and possibly be reassimilated in the process.

Annika must have seen all of this play out in his eyes. She knew exactly what he was thinking for she knew Chakotay. She knew his sense of responsibility and duty. She gasped suddenly and pushed his hand away. Standing rapidly she stormed out of the room.

The rest barely registered she had gone. It was critical to get the inoculations loaded onto various vessels and to the Alpha Quadrant. Chakotay lowered his eyes and took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. He turned to Grenell who was standing nearby. Grenell stepped forward and leaned down to hear. "Prepare one of the tetrahedrons. I will leave immediately," Chakotay said. He was drained and now conflicted. Annika did care. If he did return from this mission, might there be a chance?

#

Axum was seated in a chair in Annika's quarters and Annika paced back and forth. "He's gone," she said again. "He's going to be reassimilated."

"It's possible the Borg won't assimilate him," Axum suggested.

Annika glared at him as she paced.

"All Chakotay has to do is deliver the message," he persisted. "Tell the Borg what he knows about the pathogen. That might be enough."

Annika shook her head. She knew the Borg. She had been a Borg drone for eighteen years. She still had pieces of the Borg inside her. The Hive Mind wouldn't accept just his word about the pathogen. Axum had said it himself in the meeting. The Borg gained knowledge by assimilation.

"Someone had to go," Axum said, trying another tactic. "Chakotay volunteered. It was his decision."

"He felt obligated to go," Annika said. It irritated her that Axum was trying to rationalize Chakotay's decision. She didn't like his emotional detachment from the ramifications of current events. "When it was decided that someone was needed to deliver this message, we should have chosen that person differently."

"How?"

Annika shrugged. "We could have picked the person randomly. We could have made a fair decision. Who knows, perhaps we could have figured out a way to deliver the damn message without someone having to get assimilated. He shouldn't have been put in that position."

"Would you rather it have been you or I that went?" Axum asked incredulously.

Annika didn't answer. Of course she didn't want to be reassimilated. The thought made her terrified. But Chakotay? She rubbed her hands together and started pacing again. It had all happened too fast. Everything was happening too fast. She had been putting it off in her mind, not wanting to decide. They had needed to build the settlement. Get the maturation chambers set and care for the babies and children. He was always there by her side. But now that he was gone, she finally realized the truth.

"What has you so unsettled?" Axum asked. He stood up and moved towards Annika. She stopped pacing when he stood in front of her and then he lightly placing his hand on her arm. "I'm concerned about Chakotay too, but he…"

"You didn't even like Chakotay," Annika shot back, pulling her arm away.

Axum appeared agitated. "I worked with Chakotay in Unimatrix Zero. Remember? Don't forget that it was the pathogen I developed there that freed us from the Borg. It enabled all this." He spread his arms to indicate the settlement around them.

Yes, but it wouldn't be the same without Chakotay. Annika started pacing again, mostly to move away from Axum. Even after knowing him for as long as she could remember, she really didn't know Axum. How could you get to know someone when all you shared with them was the fantasy construct of Unimatrix Zero? It was Chakotay who she had been with on the cube, who had fought the drones in the Central Plexus chamber, who had returned with her without question to save the others and the children, who actually saw her baby as a blessing and not a burden. She placed her hands on her abdomen. It was Chakotay whom she…

"Besides, I couldn't have been the one to go."

Annika stopped pacing again and turned to face Axum. He was now looking out the window. There were streaks of water on the pane from a storm that had passed earlier. The view took in most of the valley and the mountains beyond. She had specifically asked for these quarters because of it. He glanced at her for a brief moment, but didn't seem to want to meet her eyes. She had a sick feeling in her stomach. "What do you mean?"

Axum shrugged. "It's nothing, but this wouldn't work if I was the one who was reassimilated back into the Collective."

Annika stepped closer. "I don't understand. Why would it matter? If the Borg were to assimilate all that you know about the pathogen, then it would be immediately clear to them…" Suddenly she stopped and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh my God! You know something about the pathogen you didn't tell Chakotay."

Axum remained silent. Looking out the window at a flock of birds now passing overhead.

"Tell me!" Annika shouted.

"It won't work," Axum said.

"What won't work?"

"The pathogen won't work, not fully at least, but it doesn't have to." He finally turned to face Annika again. "As long as the Borg thinks the pathogen would be as devastating as we described, that's enough."

"This was your big idea? This is what you've been working on? You've got to be kidding."

"No one else knows," Axum soothed. "I created the parameters of the simulation, so of course Data and Rajul were convinced." He smiled again, in a way that made Annika's skin crawl. "As long as the Collective is convinced, that's all that matters." He took a tentative step towards Annika. "But perhaps, just in case, we should leave the settlement and find a safer place for us to be. Just for a short time. We could return when it becomes clear the Borg aren't going to attack."

Annika looked about the room. "We have to stop him," she said frantically.

"No Annika," Axum said, moving towards Annika and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Don't you see? Chakotay must deliver the message to the Borg. Only then will the Alpha Quadrant have a chance of being safe. What did they expect in a week?"

"I can't believe it. You convinced everyone you had this great idea. Everyone thinks we have a defense against the Borg."

"Exactly. It will work," Axum persisted. "I think the settlement will be safe. All the children here will be safe."

Annika's breathing was becoming ragged. She had been so blind. Finally her eyes focused on the man in front of her and she pushed him away. He was risking all their lives. "Get out!" she said.

"Annika…"

"I told you to leave. Now." Her voice was steady, yet with a threatening edge. She was frightened at the depth of anger she felt. As a Borg drone, Annika had been in several physical confrontations during times she was involved with the assimilation of a ship or planet. It was just a few short weeks ago when she used her arm to hack off the cube's Vinculum. In those instances, however, she could recollect no emotion. Her feelings now were vastly different.

Axum seemed disappointed and moved slowly to the door. "I'll let you settle down," he said. "I'll come back and check on you in a little while. It will all work out. You'll see."

Annika remained quiet as he left, restraining the rage that was welling up within her. As soon as he was gone, she moved quickly over to her desk and pressed the comm. "Annika to Grenell."

There was a short pause. "Go ahead."

"Find me a tetrahedron. I'm leaving immediately."

"You can't go after him Annika."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Annika, the last think Chakotay would want is for you to be in danger. He cares about you." Did Grenell know how she felt about Chakotay too? He was perceptive and apparently knew exactly what she intended to do, but she wasn't going to be dissuaded.

"I know Grenell. I know! I have to go. If you don't help me, I'll find another way."

There was silence on the other end. Even in the short time she had known him, she knew Grenell better than Axum. Just as she knew Chakotay's arguments and didn't need to hear them when she stormed out of the meeting, she could almost hear Grenell's thinking process. He was loyal and would help her. "Meet me in my quarters," he finally said.

"I have to take care of something first, but I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay. I'll be waiting."

Annika moved quickly to the door and exited her quarters. She had one stop to make before meeting with Grenell and going after Chakotay. It was something she needed to know. Something she suspected and had to find out before she left. The medical offices were near her quarters, and it took her just a minute to get there. With all the former Borg drones having their implants removed, there were usually several doctors there and on duty. Either medical doctors from before they were assimilated, or former medical drones who retained the requisite knowledge.

One of the doctors was out in the reception area when she arrived and stopped what he was doing. "Annika, is something wrong?"

"I'm fine, but I need you to run a quick test for me."